Improved portable gas-apparatus



' M. C. STEBBIN S.

Carburetelf.

Patented Oct. 27, 1868.

[nwzziarl- N PETEBS, FHOTO-LITHOGRIPHER. WASHINGTON. Dv C,

i i r W I fitstea basil i o. STEBBINS, o sPRINeFI L MASSACHU SETTS. v Letters Patent No. 83,419, dated October 27, I868. v

nvrrn'ovnn PORTABLE GAS-APPARATUS.

' The Schedule referred 1:0 in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may contain Be it known that I, M. O. STEBBINs, of Springfield,

in the county of Hampden, and State of M'assachu-' setts, have invented a new andimproved Portable Gas- Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which arrangement andconstruction of a set of vessels with their pipes and connections, and their combination, in such manner as to greatly simplify the manufacture of carburetted gas;

That'others skilled in' the artmay be ableto-make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and arrangement, and the mode of its operation.

Inthe drawings- 7 i A and B represent the shell and self-sealing cover of a common water gasometer; 0 represents the vessel for contaming-the gasoline, or other carburettingoil, and ,D represents a vessel to ,contain water, and which I denominate a water-valve, into which passes a pipe, i, extending nearly to the bottom of the vessel upon the inside; said pipe t also extending above the top of the vessel and having a check-valve attached thereto, at h, and at k is an orifice, through which to putv in water, when desirable, which oiifice is closed either by a stop-cock, or by any convenient stopper.

- The pipe n justenters the top of the vessel D, ex-v tends some little distance above the top of said vessel D, and down again into and nearly to the bottom of the vessel 0; the said pipe being cut, and a couplingconnection, j; uniting the two ends, for the purpose of disconnecting the two vessels, when desirable.

. The pipe m, having a stop-cock at d, enters the top.

of the vessel 0, and extends nearly to the botton there of, through which pipe m, the carburetting-oil is either put in or taken out of the vessel G, when necessary and at c is 'a pet-cock, for the escape of gas while filling in the carburetting-oil,-although, in practice-it is not believed to be necessary to have the pet-cock attached, as the operation of forcing in the-oarburettingoil will-force the gas into the gasometer, through the pipe-0, which just enters the top'of the vessel 0; a stop-cock, b, being attached to said-pipe 0, and also a coupling-connection, for the'purpose of more conven-- iently disconnecting said pipe, when desirable. Said pipe 0 passes down, and enters the gasometer at the bottom, and extends upwards, within said gasometer,

to a height somewhat above the upper edge of the outer case A of said gasometer, and fiom thence, extends downwards to a point below the surface of the water. p

The pipe 8 has its opening at a point above the top of the outer case A of the gasometer,and the entrance to said pipe sis protected by two tunnel-shaped hoods 1', which enter the pipe at the side, and there may be one or more of said hoods.- v r r The object ofsaid hoods is to prevent the water, which may spatter during the operation of forcing the air into the gasometer, fiom entering the pipe, and also to furnish a surface for condensation, as in case of the use of this device, the condensation occm'smainly upon the hoods r, and their form is such, that'the' condensed fluid is conducted away from the entrance to the pipe 8, and it drops into the water in the gasometer.

The construction and form of these'hoods are shown more fully in fig. 3. I

The pipe s extends down through the bottom of the gasometer, and has a drip'pipe at its lowest point, which may be opened and closed by a stop-cock, 'v, for the purpose of drawing ofi' any condensed matter which may collect in said pipe s.

This pipe s conducts the gas to the burners, and a stop-cock, t, is placed at any point between said burners and the gasomet'cr'.

The gasometer is precisely similar in its construction, so far as its case A and cover B, with the braces, pulleys, 820., are concerned, though diiierent, in its arrangement of pipes, to gasometers now in use.

Having thus described the construction and arrangement of my invention, I will now proceed to describe its mode of operation.

The cocks c and dbeing open, gasoline or othercarbon-oil is placed in the vessel 0, throughthe pipe m, filling the-vessel O to any proper .o'rdesirable height, say two-thirds full, and the cooks c and .d are then closed. The desiredquantity of water-is then placed in the gasometer, say to within a few inches of the top, and a suific'ient quantity of water is also placed in the .vessel D, through the orifice k, to submerge the lower end of the pipe 11. The stop-cocks v, c, and d being closed, and the dock]: being open, connection is made,

at x, with a condenser,-pump, or blower, and air is n, it rises through the gasoline or carbon-oil H, and

during its said passage,and stay in the vessel 0, the air absorbs a certain quantity of the carbon, and is converted into carburetted air or illuminating-gas, and it thence passes out through the pipe 0, and, as the lower end of said pipe '0 is submerged in the water F, within the gasometer, the carburetted air, as it emerges from said pipe 0, rises through the water E, which clears it of any impurities which may ,exist, and it is ready for consumption. As the carburetted air is forced into the gasometer, the cover B being properly balanced,

as usual, saidcover rises until the gasometer is full, when the flow of air is stopped.v Should the flow of be continued, however, and be condensed to any degree in the gasometer, the water could not be forced back into the pipe 0 over the point 0', for that point being higher than the outer case A of the gasometer, the water would first be forced between the cover B and case A, and over the top of said case A; and in order to guard against any back pressure, and prevent any possibility of the escape of the gasoline throughthe pipe a into the vessel D, said pipe 02 is carried to a height somewhat above the top of said vessel 0; and to prevent any escape of water from the vessel D through the pipe '1', said pipe dis carried or'extended somewhat above the top of said vessel D. Y

The upper endof the pipe s being above the top of the case A, there is no possibility-of the water being forced into said pipe 8, on account of any condensation of gas within the gasometer, and any condensation of vapor in the pipe s is removed by opening, for an instant, the stop-cock v.

I do not claim the construction of the vessels B G D, or either of them, when considered irrespective of their arrangement of pipes and'connections, as I have endeavored to make such an. arrangement of said pipes and connections as to obviate the use of complicated valves, or valves in any form, which, when'immersed in the liquid, as they often are in other devices used for the same purpose, sometimes become stopped or clogged by sediment, and are diflicult to remove for repair. In practice, it may not be actually necessary to use the check-valve h, though I prefer to use it, as it is perfectly easy and convenient of removal for repair, if necessary;

This app'aratusis particularly applicable for use for the manufacture of gasfor dwelling-houses, for by connectingithe pipe 1' with a small hand-blower or pump, a sufiicient quantity of gas maybe manufactured in a very few minutes to supplythe demand for one or more evenings, according to the size of the gasometer.

It will be perceived that the position of the several vessels vO D and gasometer B A may be modified or changed, as convenience or circumstances may require. For instance, the vessel D may be placed in the jcellar of a building, and the gasometer and vessel C maybe placed in a vault, apart from the cellar, or the vessel D and gasometer may be placed in the cellar, and the vessel 0 placed in a separate vault, the distance. be-

, tween the vessels being of no mo1nent,as long as the same arrangement of pipes and their relative height is maintained, I

'lhe vessel'D having the pipe 1' therein, the lower gnd of which is immersed in water, forms a most perect and effective guard against any escape of gas from the gasoline-holder C, while it is cheap, and simple, and

easy to regulate.

Having thus described my invention, )Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 

